Republican Party

The Republican Party is a conservative political party in the United States. Along with its rival US Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties in the country, and since its foundation in 1854, it has competed with the Democrats for control of the country. It was founded by abolitionists and Free Soilers, holding liberal viewpoints at first; it later abandoned republicanism for conservatism. In 2016, the party had 54/100 senate seats, 246/435 house seats, 31/50 governorships, 1,134/1,972 upper chamber seats in the senate, and 3,044/5,411 lower chamber seats, and it is united in its opposition to large government, abortion, immigration, gay marriage, and welfare.